US startup AstroForge aims to launch its first mission to mine asteroids for metals later in 2023 via a partnership with UK-based Orbital Astronautics Ltd (OrbAstro).
A small 'cubesat' satellite built by OrbAstro and called Brokkr-1 will be launched into low Earth orbit in April this year on a SpaceX rideshare, to test AstroForge's technologies and "orbital refinery" for extracting metals from asteroids and a mass spectrometer to analyse the samples.
The aim is to follow this with a larger spacecraft that will try and fly by a near-Earth asteroid, collecting data about its composition, including the presence of platinum-group metals (PGMs).
Brokkr-1's payload of AstroForge tech will carry “asteroid-like” material and attempt to vaporise this and sift the desired metals from less interesting elements.
The second mission, Brokkr-2, will also be built by OrbAstro, which is based in Didcot, Oxfordshire, using a larger 100kg vehicle and carried on Intuitive Machines's IM-2 lunar lander mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 trip.
AstroForge has selected a small near-Earth asteroid for this mission but did not confirm its identity - saying to do so would "incur risk" - but said it is less than 100 meters in diameter.
It is anticipated to take around eight to 11 months for Brokkr-2's to reach the asteroid – using a lunar slingshot and a propulsion system built by Dawn Aerospace for a heliocentric orbit roughly 22mln miles from Earth – before a fly-by designed to test if the asteroid is metallic as well as analyse the surface of the asteroid for future missions.
The mission will last two years, with the companies testing the spacecraft after the flyby to simulate a round-trip mission.
Backup launches have been identified into 2024 that would still allow the craft to reach the asteroid, the company said.
“We want to make sure is that, if we go to an asteroid and we prove these things out, that we can go back to the asteroid on subsequent flights,” Matt Gialich, AstroForge co-founder and chief executive, told SpaceNews.
He added, to The Register, that if the second mission succeeds it will be the first deep space mission launched by a commercial company.
Last summer the company raised US$13mln to fund the mission, focusing on its specialist analysis and mining technology, with aerospace tasks outsourced to the likes of OrbAstro.
Dr Ash Dove-Jay, CEO and founder of OrbAstro, said, “Deep-space has until now only been within the remit of governments. This is the first fully commercial deep-space mission ever, it is a significant milestone for the space industry.
“The calibre, speed, and ambition at AstroForge is inspiring – and it is fantastic to forge ahead on this journey together.”
Gialich said another funding round would be needed to achieve the first mining mission.
It is not the first company to attempt such an asteroid-mining mission, with ventures such as Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries having headed off course from their original missions.
Planetary Resources was founded by James Cameron, with backing from Larry Page and Eric Schmidt of Google fame, and eventually sold to blockchain company Consensys, with all its intellectual property made open-source.
Deep Space Industries was set up with a focus on mining in space before changing tack to satellite development.